Riding Along with Papa

In March, our youngest was able to ride along on an overnight flight with his dad.  The flight had multiple stops the first day, with the final destination being out on the "bird's head" portion of our island.  Some coworkers of ours were out in their village and needed a ride back to our town.  This flight is one of the longest ones our pilots make, so it usually means flying out one day, with multiple stops, staying one night and then returning the next day.  It was pretty special for J to get to ride along!  Here are some pictures highlighting their trip.

2 of the dear ladies being dropped off on the way out

First stop

One of the runways

Happy co-pilot

J's perspective of his papa pilot

Snaking river through the jungle

Hills and clouds and NO roads

Brown river

Father and son

Visiting the church in the village

Taking a walk through the village

Bridge (not in too bad of shape!)

Checking out one of the village houses

Inside the house

Pig in the house
(their pigs are very important to them, so this is normal)

High five for a friend

New friends

Joining in a soccer game

Headed home

An extra treat was stopping in the village of his close friend for a quick visit

Buddies since they were toddlers

Christmas in Langda

Our family had a very special opportunity this past Christmas.  All of the Kroneman side of the family came to visit and we went into the village where they had lived for many years in the beginning of their translation work here.  We spent 4 nights together in their village house and joined in the Christmas celebrations with the community there. It was a privilege to make this trip and we will have memories from it for years to come. 

One of the benefits of having a pilot in the family:
 we can all (*barely!) fit into one plane to fly the 1.5 hour flight to Langda!

This was also special as it was the first time for Kars to be the PILOT
taking all of his family into HIS village!

The beautiful village

Surrounded by steep mountains

Such an impressive pilot!
No issues at all getting us into the mountainous runway!

Pictures do not do justice to the beauty of this piece of God's creation

Next benefit of having the pilot: keeping the plane on the ground for the duration of our stay,
making our departure MUCH simpler

Fog rolling in.  This is typically a daily occurrence,
which is the main reason Langda is notorious for not being an easy place to get in/out of.  

Where'd the mountains go?

Church

The Kroneman house is on the hill to the left of Kars

It was special to worship all together
(Traditionally women and men sit separately in church)

Taking photos after church on the edge of the cliff

Boots and sweatshirts are essential in this village!

6 feet to my left is a 3000 foot cliff

Christmas morning snuggles with the cousins

Special Christmas Day Service
(They had built a small stable, which everyone later placed their offering in)

Such gorgeous views

Waiting for our Christmas feast

The bench they are sitting on is about 1 foot away
from a 3000 foot cliff (without a railing!)

The sun is blazing hot up at a 6000' elevation

Ready to eat our Christmas feast

Roasted pig, sweet potatoes and other veggies

The food was cooked in 2 cooking pits with hot rocks (the food is buried under the rocks)
& when it was time to eat, every family sat together to share the special meal

The boys loved being in the village!

Note the snow-capped mountains on the equator!

What a privilege to all be in Langda together!